Hello everyone and thank you for joining me today. I have been enjoying connecting with those of you who have reached out to say hi, ask questions, say thank you, and share who you are with me. If you’ve reached out you know I’m asking you for feedback on what’s working and what you would like to see more of. I’ve gotten some great feedback this week from Sonia Sng, Vice President of Product & Innovation Risk at Visa, who was looking for more topics that would benefit both the entrepreneur and the professional working woman.  She offered up conflict resolution and personal branding as suggestions and I love these ideas. I developed a workshop on conflict resolution last year and so I can dive right into that topic. Thank you so much, Sonia! I’m making a case for Why You Want to Have More Conflict in Your Life Erin Robbins from Ginzametrics was on Women Taking the Lead recently in episode 210 and she shared how what worked for her was her ability to be direct and address things as they arose. She explained that, though hardly anyone loves to give critical feedback to another person, it’s actually necessary to keep the peace and maintain strong relationships. Most people hate conflict because their experience with conflict is the type where the tension built for so long that the conflict was a heated emotional exchange rather than a calm conversation. Who wants to sign up for that type of conflict? I also know women who value harmony so much they don’t want to rock the boat or come across as unsupportive. The problem is that, in their desire to maintain harmony, they usually create chaos. I had a personal experience with this when I was in my corporate job. It was during our first acquisition, and you have to know that when you are combining two distinct cultures there is going to be conflict. That is normal. Everyone is used to their way of doing things but adjustments have to be made. And there’s a lot of conversation that needs to take place in order to facilitate the process. The problem was two different teams began having conflicts and it wasn’t getting resolved. The senior leader who could have mediated the situation and let all parties be heard and make a decision did not like conflict and chose to pretend it wasn’t happening. The miscommunication and chaos that ensued rippled across several departments of the company and every level of those departments. If nothing else I want you to take away from this episode the clarity that avoiding conflict creates chaos. The more small confrontations you have the more peace and harmony you will experience overall.     Thank You to Our Sponsors Zebralove Web Solutions: Your website tells a story about your business! At Zebralove Web Solutions, Milly and her team are going to make sure your website tells the story you want your customers to hear. Connect with Milly at zebralovewebsolutions.com to create the impression you want to make! Resources Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women in the community! Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen. The Accomplished Community: A community of entrepreneurial Type A women uniting to achieve their biggest goals with confidence, integrity and a sense of humor. Subscribe to Women Taking the Lead If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music or iHeart Radio and never miss out on inspiration and community!